London Borough of Enfield

Human Resources

August 2001 Contents

1 Best Value 3

2 Summary 4

Recommendations 6

3 Report 7

3.1 Context 7

The Locality 7

The Council 8

Human Resources in the London Borough of Enfield 8

The Council’s Best Value Review 9

3.2 Findings: How good are the services? 11

Are the authority’s aims clear and challenging? 11

Does the service meet those aims? 12

How does the authority compare? 17

3.3 Findings: Is the service going to improve? 21

Does the best value process drive improvement? 21

How good is the improvement plan? 25

Will the authority deliver the improvements? 27

Appendix - What the inspectors did 29

Documents examined 29

Reality checks undertaken 29

Interviews conducted 29 1 Best Value

The Government has placed a duty of best value on local authorities to deliver services to clear standards – of cost and quality – by the most economic, efficient and effective means available. Best value is a challenging new performance framework that requires authorities to publish annual best value performance plans and review all their services every five years.

Authorities must show that they have applied the 4Cs of best value to every review:

- challenging why and how a service is being provided
- comparing their performance with others’ (including organisations in the private and voluntary sectors)
- embracing fair competition as a means of securing efficient and effective services
- consulting with local taxpayers, customers and the wider business community.

Authorities must demonstrate to local people that they are achieving continuous improvement in all of their services. The Government has decided that each authority should be scrutinised by an independent inspectorate, so that the public will know whether best value is being achieved. The purpose of the inspection and of this report is to:

- enable the public to see whether best value is being delivered
- enable the inspected body to see how well it is doing
- enable the Government to see how well its policies are working on the ground
- identify failing services where remedial action may be necessary
- identify and disseminate best practice.

The Local Government Act 1999 requires all best value authorities to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way their functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. From 1st April 2000, best value authorities must prepare best value performance plans for each financial year and conduct best value reviews for all their functions over a 5 year cycle. The Audit Commission is responsible for inspecting these reviews to determine whether authorities have complied with the requirements of the best value legislation and associated guidance.

This report has been prepared by the Audit Commission (“the Commission”) following an inspection by the Commission under Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999 (“the 1999 Act”). This report is issued by the Commission in accordance with its duty under Section 13 of the 1999 Act. 2 Summary

1 The London Borough of Enfield is a large outer London Borough to the north of the City of London. Enfield’s population is 259,000 (February 2000). Over 32 per cent of the population is from an ethnic minority, 1,900 people are in temporary accommodation, and the overall unemployment level is 5.6 per cent - with a disproportionate number coming from young, lone parents and ethnic minorities. 8,500 refugees live in the borough. Council housing stock accounts for 12 per cent of borough housing.

2 Labour who holds 43 of the 66 seats leads the council, with the opposition holding the remaining 23.

3 The human resources best value review covered strategy, organisation development and projects, and operational human resource services.

4 We judged the council’s Human Resources service as providing a “good” two star service(^1) that will “probably” improve.

______________________________________________________________________

1 The scoring chart displays performance in two dimensions. The horizontal axis shows how good the service or function is now, on a scale ranging from no stars for a service that is poor (at the left-hand end) to three stars for an excellent service (right-hand end). The vertical axis shows the improvement prospects of the service, also on a four-point scale. 5 Our judgements are based on the evidence obtained during the inspection and are outlined below.

6 The positive aspects of the service included:

- high customer satisfaction with the Human Resources service;
- clarity around provision of the service; and
- a professional and motivated staff team with strong leadership.

7 However a number of aspects require further attention:

- effective data collection and monitoring is hindered by an inadequate information technology system;
- Equalities is an area that Enfield is beginning to address but there is still some way to go; and
- job evaluation is a process that is seen as slow by users.

8 We believe the service will probably improve. In particular we felt the following aspects to be positive:

- the creation of local performance indicators which are key to users and members in determining how the service is performing;
- all actions to date within the improvement plan have been completed within timescale;
- there was significant Member involvement in the review; and
- effective leadership of the service is apparent.

9 However the council needs to be mindful that:

- The lack of an integrated IT system is a challenge which the service needs to overcome.
- The service needs to actively “move forward” the eight future service delivery options presented to members.
- The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 imposes a duty on councils to promote racial equality. Currently the council does not have a complete picture of its workforce in terms of ethnicity. Recommendations

10 To rise to the challenge of continuous improvement authorities need inspection reports that offer practical pointers for improvement. In this context, the inspection team feel that the authority should now take action to resolve a number of general, political, managerial and partnership issues.

11 We recommend that the council should:

- Develop an integrated IT system which allows access and sharing of data with other key services and the delivery of an improved and responsive seamless service to users.
- Continue to develop work around equalities including working in partnership with local equalities groups.
- Build on current successes such as the “How Do I?” guides and extend to other areas such as appraisal. This will help equip users with the skills they need to carry out their roles effectively.
- Complete the final stages of the HR Strategy and publish by October 2001. This will visibly outline to users the future direction of the service.
- Achieve or maintain top quartile position in all national performance indicators by 2005.
- Agree targets for local performance indicators up to 2005 so that users can clearly see how the services delivered to them are performing.
- Work on some “quick wins” by implementing a project plan for increasing user satisfaction with the job evaluation process and providing a regular update on progress to single status.

We would like to thank the staff and councillors of LB Enfield who made us feel welcome and who met our requests efficiently and courteously.

Mary Golden & Jackie Barry-Purssell

Inspectors Email: m-golden@audit-commission.gov.uk j-barry-purssell@audit-comission.gov.uk

For more information please contact BVIS Audit Commission London Region 17th Floor Millbank Tower Millbank London SW1P 4QP www.bestvalueinspections.gov.uk 020 7872 4900 3 Report

3.1 Context

The Locality

12 The London Borough of Enfield is a large outer London borough to the north of the City of London. Enfield’s population is 259,000 (February 2000).

Exhibit 1: LB Enfield

13 Over 32 per cent of the population is from an ethnic minority, 1,900 people are in temporary accommodation, and the overall unemployment level is 5.6 per cent - with a disproportionate number coming from young, lone parents and ethnic minorities. 8500 refugees live in the borough. Council housing stock accounts for 12 per cent of borough housing. The Council

14 The council adopted a vision statement – “Future Enfield” in November 2000. It contains eight long-term objectives which guide council decisions and the action it takes to improve services. These are:

- Listening to and representing local people
- Improving the environment
- Excellent Services
- Accessible services and information
- Championing Equality
- Learning for All
- Safe and Supportive
- Economic Success.

15 The council comprises 66 councillors and is controlled by the Labour party. Currently a Leader and Cabinet, with six Scrutiny Panels, govern the business of the council.

16 The council’s overall budget for the year 2001/02 is £293.6 million. In the previous financial year there had been a considerable overspending of £5.2 million on social services and housing homeless functions; considerable financial pressures remain. The current budget involved savings of £3.6 million though remaining balances of £3 million give the council little contingency over unforeseen events.

17 In addition to responding to the demands of new legislation, particularly the requirements of best value, the council has achieved CRE Level 2.

Human Resources in the London Borough of Enfield

18 The Head of Human Resources reports directly to the Chief Executive, although she is not a member of the Council Management Team (CMT). In response to user feedback the Human Resources function was re-organised to a centralised service part-way through the BVR. 19 The Human Resource section covers the following areas: Strategic HR, Operational HR, Corporate Safety, Occupational Health, training and Development (including the Employment Training Service). The service is organised as follows:

**Exhibit 2: Structure LB Enfield Human Resources Structure**

![Diagram of Human Resources Structure]

20 There is a budget of £1,980,490 for the financial year of 2001/02. The budget for the service has been reduced by over £232,000 in the last three years. The service is costed at £164 per employee.

21 The Human Resources service have identified its users as: Enfield residents and service users, The Council, Councillors, Council Management Team, Service Managers, Trade Unions, all Council staff, external partners such as Middlesex University, Government Departments and other public agencies.

22 Most services are delivered in-house. The recruitment advertising and Occupational Health Service are out-sourced to other organisations.

23 Partnership work has been undertaken with a number of organisations including Middlesex University.

24 The service has developed a high profile internally and takes a significant role in communication council-wide, recently carrying out an extensive communication audit. The Head of Service is active in the HR arena nationally.

**The Council’s Best Value Review**

25 The council carried out a best value review (BVR) of the service in 1999 with the final report completed and reported to Members in February 2001. The review was in two parts: Performance Assessment Report completed in August 2000 Fundamental Service Review completed in December 2000.

26 The initial review resulted primarily in a re-organisation from a de-centralised to a centralised service. This was accomplished in June 2000. An interim action plan which followed highlighted that:

- further data and analysis needed to be collated and analysed;
- further external challenge on development of options appraisal needed to be undertaken; and
- further consultation with users on options appraisal.

27 The final review resulted in an action plan that made recommendations for the future service delivery of Human Resources; under the headings of local performance indicators developed by the service, in addition to national performance indicators. These were under the broad headings of:

- Joining Enfield
- Being an employee of the organisation
- Leaving London Borough of Enfield.

28 Options appraisals were explored and recommendations made. Members accepted these recommendations and these have been included in an improvement plan.

The BVR Team consisted of:

- Project Leader, Head of Human Resources
- Project facilitator, internal consultant
- Self-assessment co-ordinator, internal HR consultants
- External GMT member, Assistant Director of Social services
- Consultant co-ordinator, Assistant Head of Human Resources.

The BVR Team consulted widely with users and staff in the formulation of the Action Plan. Members, officers and an AD from another council provided the element of challenge. 3.2 Findings: How good are the services?

Are the authority’s aims clear and challenging?

29 Inspectors look to see how a council has agreed the key aims for the service being inspected, how clear these aims are to the people that receive the service and whether these reflect the corporate aims of the organisation as a whole.

30 Challenge is the key to achieving significant improvements in performance and targets set by the council and Government. Without challenge best value will be ineffective. It requires the council to consider and demonstrate how a service contributes to its wider corporate aims and community plans.

31 The council has eight key priorities and aims through “Future Enfield” (see paragraph 14). We found that these priorities formed the cornerstone of the best value performance Plan (BVPP) for 2001/02. The Council through a variety of consultation methods including questionnaires, resident panels, website comments, and random surveys developed these aims.

32 The key priorities and aims from “Future Enfield” that are most relevant to this service are identified in the Human Resources Core Unit Plan (2000/01) as:

- **Excellent customer services that provide best value** – drawn from extensive user consultation.

- **Easy access to services and information** – through the introduction of improved communication across the council and access by technology as well as more traditional methods.

- **Championing equality of opportunity** – through developing closer working with local community groups and at a national level. Implementing more effective monitoring.

- **Learning for all** – in particular Investors in People (IIP) and Lifelong Learning.

- **Safe and supportive** – through effective Corporate Health and Safety and Occupational Health.

- **Economic success** – particularly in the targeted use of the Employment Training Service for 17-25 year olds in Enfield.

33 The service has produced a Core Unit Plan for 2001/02, which states that “We knew that if Enfield wanted to fulfil its aims to be a forward looking, innovative and efficient authority, services would need to be provided by well-trained, knowledgeable, motivated and committed staff. Staff also need to be supported by a high quality, well implemented Human Resources policy framework that helps to achieve the Council’s vision and priorities. The realignment of the function which included bringing all staff together in one location and focussing on customer service goes some way towards achieving these objectives.”

34 The Core Unit Plan is clearly linked to the “Future Enfield” priorities: examples are provided in the plan as to how these links can be demonstrated. The introduction of the Equalities Audits for example, fits clearly with the Equality of Opportunity objective.

35 In particular, the excellent focus on the customer services priority underlines the importance of best value, quality initiatives and management of resources.

36 The council’s aims are clear and challenging and it is apparent that these are meaningful and valued by the Human Resource staff team. In conversations with us there was a clarity from staff about the aims of the service “we are clear now about where we are going”, although there was an acknowledgement that “we still have some way to go” (HR Staff). The agreement of the draft Human Resource Strategy may help to address this.

37 In conclusion, our view is that the corporate “Future Enfield” priorities have been successfully translated into service plans that emphasise quality, investment in staff and customer satisfaction.

Does the service meet those aims?

38 Having considered the aims the council has set for the service, inspectors make an assessment of how well the council is meeting these aims. This includes an assessment of performance against specific standards and targets and the council’s approach to measuring whether it is actually delivering what it set out to do.

39 This question is considered under the headings of the aims of the service under the “Future Enfield” priorities.

Excellent customer service that provide best value

40 We interviewed a wide variety of users to check whether the service meets the aims it sets out to deliver. It is very clear from all users that we spoke to that there has been a significant improvement in the service they receive. Comments such as “marked improvements” (users group) “you can see a change in the focus – a definite link between the objectives in written documentation and see it actually happening”(Chief Officer) were fairly commonplace. 41 In the past customer satisfaction has been variable. The Performance Assessment Report gives as evidence the results of a survey from 1999:

- 15 per cent of managers saw the recruitment service as “good” compared to 59 per cent that saw it as “average”, 17 per cent as “fair” and 9 per cent as “poor”.

- Only 11 per cent of managers and staff felt Training and Development had enhanced staff skills.

42 However, this perception appears to have changed. In user focus groups and with other reality checks, there was a clear consensus that the service had changed significantly for the better “they are much more customer focused” (users). In our view you have consulted widely with your users about the aims of the service and are responsive to their feedback.

43 The service is seen to be responsive to feedback and users are consulted on a regular basis, through an annual Customer survey. In response to user views that recruitment was taking too long, a recruitment project plan was recently introduced which has in some instances reduced recruitment from 16 to 8 weeks.

44 Users consider the service to have an effective and committed staff team. Many favourable comments were made such as “good staff, committed, professional, high level of expertise, sound advice you can rely on” (Chief Officer)

45 Formal and informal mechanisms for consulting with Trade Unions are in place and generally appear to work well.

46 Local performance indicators have been developed in consultation with users and these are covered more fully under question three.

**Easy access to services and information**

47 With the introduction of such initiatives as HR briefings, HR Chronicle and, most recently a council newsletter (this is in response to the communication audit analysis) the service has developed a higher profile in Enfield over the last two years. Closer working with the local job centre has taken place and there is a close and positive partnership with Middlesex University.

48 This is also seen at a national level, the Head of Service is a member of the Society of Chief Personnel Officers (SOCPO), on the Policy Committee for SOCPO and is currently the Chair of the National Equalities Group. This group are currently being formally consulted with by the Commission for Racial Equality. 49 The council’s web-site is used for advertising job vacancies and the recent introduction of “How do I?” handbooks for managers, has been viewed as particularly helpful by users.

**Championing equality of opportunity**

50 The service has recognised the need to move forward more pro-actively in this area, using as a base the Corporate Equalities Action Plan. Work is currently being undertaken on an Equalities Audit and this will be an ongoing process. A positive working relationship is being developed with Enfield Racial Equality Council.

51 This work has been recognised by the awarding of the “Best Local Authority” award in the British Diversity Awards 2000. The council was also given a Bronze Award for “Top Trend-setter”.

52 Equalities issues are also being addressed with the Enfield 21 Management Development Programme which has built in a positive action element to encourage women, black and minority ethnic and employees with disabilities to be given priority of access. An anti-harassment and friends support scheme has been introduced as well as a new redeployment scheme. Work is currently underway on improving work-life balance issues.

**Learning for all**

53 The Training and Development part of the service is currently in the throes of being re-structured and the proposal was out for consultation with users whilst we were on site. The final paper is due to go to CMT in September 2001. However, it was clear to us that users considered the service to be much improved.

54 This part of the service has a key role in generating income for the service in the provision of training. Currently the service is heavily involved in the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act. In November they will be holding a conference on design and accessibility.

55 The Development and Training Co-ordinator chairs the corporate IIP group and has been instrumental in achieving corporate status for the Council.

56 A performance management system for staff has been in place since 1997 and the service estimates that at least 75 per cent of staff are participating in this. In the HR service all staff are participating. This is currently being reviewed by the Training and Development section.

**Safe and supportive**

57 Although the Corporate Safety Team was not included in this BVR, Occupational Health, which is out-sourced, is included here. We spoke to the Occupational Health contractor, a division of Swiss Life – Interact Health Management. There is a positive working relationship in partnership evident and many preventive initiatives are occurring. In recent months there has been a two-day Health Fair and outreach work for health assessments. There is a continuing publication of leaflets around areas of interest, the most recent being about Tuberculosis and manual working. Consultation with users takes place on a regular basis and there is a permanent contract officer in the human resources service who takes responsibility for monitoring the contract.

58 A Stress Management Policy is currently out with users for consultation.

Economic success

59 The Employment Training Scheme is the community-facing aspect of training and development. The service deals with approximately 300 16-18 year olds. They are linked to New Deal programmes for young people living in Enfield.

60 However, key themes arose during our inspection which do need to be addressed by the council.

61 There is at all levels a debate about the role of HR and the role of the manager. Whilst some users had a clear understanding of this, we would consider there is still some work to do in this area. It should be stressed this is not just an Enfield issue but one that is on-going in HR circles nationally.

62 Although there is a draft in circulation that is currently being consulted on, we questioned the absence of an agreed HR strategy. The Head of Service has a view that all managers and staff need to know what an HR service can provide and be involved in drawing up the strategy, and that this takes time. Whilst we understand this perspective our view would be that this process now needs to be speeded up and an agreed strategic framework put in place so that users can more clearly see the future direction of the service.

63 The “Future Enfield” priority of easy access to services and information highlights modern technology as a means of achieving this. It is clear that the IT system currently in place, Midland Software, is not suitable for effective service provision. The BVR highlights this as a weakness in the service.

“The lack of an adequate payroll/HR information system is causing immense difficulties in data collection and has not allowed for adequate efficiencies and improvements to the service to be made. This is a significant barrier to an improved modern HR service.” (BVR, FSR, para 3.4.4)

64 It was clear to us during our time on-site that users and staff see the absence of an integrated IT system as a barrier to providing a more effective service.

65 Users would like to see more user-friendly and helpful data provided to them or even to be able to access information about their own staff. One example is around sickness absence information. 66 Whilst regular information is provided to users, which is valued by them, there is clearly a desire from them for this to be more flexible and individual to their needs. The provision of such data would assist in meeting targets outlined in the Action Plan to reduce sickness absence from 10.83 per cent (number of working days lost to sickness absence) estimated 2000/1 to 9.1 per cent by 2004/5 and achieve savings of £45,000 by the successful introduction and implementation of the sickness project.

67 These targets have been set in line with DETR targets for local councils of 9.1 days per person per year and a Cabinet Office challenge of reducing levels of sickness absence of 20 per cent by 2001 and 30 per cent by 2003.

68 In terms of equalities, Enfield still has some way to go. Currently for example, the council does not have a complete picture of what it looks like in terms of ethnicity. Approximately 20 per cent of council staff have not provided ethnic origin information, although work is in hand in the human resources service to improve this. In the absence of this and a comprehensive IT system (see paragraph 60) it is difficult to progress work on more effective monitoring. Bearing in mind that the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 imposes a duty on Local Authorities to promote racial equality. This is an issue that needs consistent commitment to moving forward.

69 The service has highlighted the need for “a performance management framework that demonstrates a clear link between the corporate objectives and performance appraisal”(^2). The Auditor’s Report to Enfield Borough Council on its BVPP also highlights that in a large and complex organisation such as the council, performance management needs to operate at both a service and a corporate level. The Training and Development section have included in their paper titled “Integrating Performance Management – the role of Human Resources” (June 2001) a project plan proposal to integrate the performance management framework by September 2002.

70 Whilst the Training and Development section are seen by users to be much improved there is still a view that there needs to be more clarity about the commissioning of training and the role of the manager and that of Training. We noted that the service has produced a draft re-structuring proposal that is currently being consulted upon.

71 There was general consensus between staff and users that monitoring of training and development needed to be more detailed. It is evident that there has been some progress in this area in the last two years and an annual profile of training undertaken has now been produced for managers.

(^2) Integrating Performance Management – the role of Human Resources, discussion paper, June 2001 72 Users have been frustrated by the apparent slowness of the council’s move to single status for all staff. We recognise that this is a complex process and one that councils all over the country are currently working on. However, it seems that users would welcome updates on progress.

73 Although in the past the council has been successful in developing community groups, there was a view in the employment Training Service that their profile in this area could be raised.

74 An operational issue that arose time and again from users was concerned with Job Evaluation. The perception is that the system is outdated and that the process takes a long time. Since we were on site the service has worked to introduce a new system that will address these perceptions.

75 In summary, we found that the Human Resource Service was seen to have improved significantly over the last two years in providing a much more responsive service to users. However, there was agreement that there was still some way to go in fully meeting user needs.

How does the authority compare?

76 In order to judge the quality of a council it is important to compare the performance of that council against others. The aim is not exact comparison, but an exploration of how similar councils perform in order to identify significant differences, the reasons for them, and the extent to which improvements are required.

77 Informed comparison is the basis of performance management and is also critical to an effective review. Councils should aim to compare their performance against other suppliers across a range of sectors.

78 The Human Resource function generally has little in the way of national performance indicators or benchmarking data from which to make comparisons. The function is often organised differently in authorities with different definitions of what constitutes the function and its various activities.

79 The national Best Value Performance Indicators are as follows:

### Exhibit 3: National Best Value Performance Indicators - HR

| Best Value performance indicator | Enfield 2000/01 estimate | 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | Comments | |----------------------------------|--------------------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|----------| | Minority ethnic community staff as % of workforce | 19% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | An estimate only, no black & minority ethnic employees at a senior level | | % of senior management posts filled by women | 32% | 34% | 36% | 38% | 40% | | | Proportion of working days/shifts lost to sickness absence | 1.83days | 10.4 | 9.97 | 9.53 | 9.1 | Targets in line with DETR and cabinet Office recommendation s | | Voluntary leavers as % of staff in post | 1.06% | 1.06% | TBA | TBA | TA | Will set targets when comparative data available | | Early retirements excluding ill health as % of total workforce | 0.48% | 0.48% | 0.47% | 0.46% | 0.45% | Tighter controls on early retirement | | Ill health retirements as % of total workforce | 0.31% | 0.31% | 0.31% | 0.31% | 0.31% | | | Members of staff declaring they meet DDA definition | 1.2% | 1.5% | 2% | 2.5% | 3.5% | |

We note that, in the absence of many national performance indicators the service has developed their own. These are currently being shared with other local authorities and this can be seen as an example of best practice. The service drew up a Performance Indicator Framework to start to make comparisons in depth and breadth. The indicators are designed to “follow the life cycle of Council employees and examine the impact of HR activity. These are as follows

Joining Enfield

- Includes advertising, recruitment and induction activities.

Being an employee of Enfield

- Redeployment: number of staff accessing redeployment process, percentage who obtain alternative employment, savings made on redundancy, average cost, views of staff and managers who use the process.
- Performance management: identification of training and development needs, cost and effectiveness of development and training.
- Contribution HR makes to performance management and council objectives: number of grievances, disciplinaries, days lost through absence, industrial action, accident statistics, management and employee satisfaction, levels.
- Communication: how HR contributes to upward, downward, horizontal and cross cutting communication.

Leaving Enfield

- Includes percentage staff turnover rates, details of employment tribunals, cost of ill-health retirements, redundancy, and reasons for dismissals.

81 The data on the performance indicators is not complete in all cases and progress on this has been made more difficult by the absence of an integrated IT system. As this is the first year the data has been collected there is no basis for comparison. However, we considered this to be a most innovative initiative. We understand other London councils are interested in this work and the Head of Service has made presentations on the local indicators with a view to sharing and disseminating best practice.

82 There are no upper quartile figures available so the service has used a year on year improvement as a baseline for improvement in the first instance. The service also used some benchmarking data from a HR benchmarker that included Central Government, Local Government and private sector contributors.

3 Human Resources Performance Assessment Report, August 2000 In conclusion, the service has, in the absence of many performance indicators devised its own. This has been recognised at a national level and, currently other councils are interested in using them. The service has compared costs with other providers and identifies itself as a low cost service.

Summary

It is clear that users have seen a significant improvement in the Human Resource Service over the last two years. It is viewed as being more customer focused and responsive to feedback. However, there is a view amongst users and staff that there are still areas that need to be further developed in order to meet the key aims and priorities of “Future Enfield”. 3.3 Findings: Is the service going to improve?

Does the best value process drive improvement?

To help us assess whether Enfield will improve the Human Resource service we asked three questions:

- Does the best value review drive improvements?
- How good is the improvement plan?
- Will the authority deliver the improvements?

Best value reviews, (BVRs) are the mechanism for ensuring authorities deliver continuous improvement in the services they provide.

Best value reviews have been mandatory since April 2000. Enfield’s review of the Human Resources service commenced in 1999 with the final report completed and reported to Members in February 2001. A best value reference group comprising staff, managers and a policy officer was established to lead the process. It should be noted that the review commenced before DETR and Audit Commission guidance to local authorities was published. We recognise that the early start of this review is a positive feature of Enfield’s approach to best value.

The council has produced corporate guidance for staff who are carrying out best value reviews. The guidance meets the requirements of the legislation and incorporates the EFQM self-assessment model to identify areas for improvement within the service under review. These areas have subsequently been highlighted in the improvement plan. The corporate guidance has been revised following the first year of best value reviews which has led to current best value reviews being externally challenged by someone from outside the council.

The Head of Human Resources led the review. Members of the team were drawn from other officers within the section. There were two additional members of the team; an assistant director from another council acting as an external challenger and an assistant director from the social services group acting as an internal challenger.

During our inspection we asked key stakeholders what improvements were evident at ground level since the best value review had started. The following examples were cited as improvements which have been implemented and have benefited both staff and service users:

- The restructuring of the service in 2000 which has resulted in increased strategic capacity and profile of the service. Users welcome this. “It is clear that the service saw the best value review as an opportunity to review both the structure and the way services were delivered. It seems to me that they have done well on both counts”

User

- The development of a core Human Resources plan which sets out to users what the service does and the standards they can expect.

- Improved advice to users e.g. “How Do I” guides for managers outlining key issues relating to recruitment and selection. These are designed to demystify many of the HR procedures and provide managers with clear practical information and advice. From our interviews with Managers it was clear that this aim had been achieved.

“The guides are easy to use and well focused. In my job there is not time to sift through an 80 page manual, so these guides are welcomed”

A Manager

- An increase in the impact of the service across the council. It is now actively involved in driving forward both service and corporate priorities e.g. the head of service forms part of the corporate communications group whose aim is to improve council-wide communication.

- Increased community work with local colleges e.g. a joint appointment with Middlesex University with a focus on “growing your own” social workers. This includes the provision of placements and the recruitment and support of practice teachers.

- The introduction of equalities audits across the council with the aim of ensuring that policies are consistently implemented. The first of these audits focused on recruitment and selection, appraisal and development, disciplinary, capability and grievances and were well received by users.

- The introduction of an employee development handbook that sets out the training and development is available to users and the various options re commissioning trainers.

- The service agreement for the operational human resources providing a clear statement to users of the service standards they will receive. It also outlines customer responsibilities and review timescales (every six months).

- The development of local PIs based on “a journey through Enfield” which are both relevant to the corporate health of the council and users of the service. The service is visibly active at a national level. The Head of Service is chair of the national equalities group for SOCPO(^4). Members and senior officers within the council welcome this approach.

91 In the section below we provide a review of how Enfield applied the “4Cs”(^5) as tools to inform and drive improvement through this review. We regard the 4Cs as being inter-related.

**Challenge**

92 Our assessment of the review is that it sought to fundamentally challenge the way the service to users was delivered, including the service structure. Midway through the review, it was decided by officers and members to restructure the service and to form one centralised service based at the Civic Centre. During our discussions with users, members and officers, it was clear that this was seen as a positive step.

“There is more of a team spirit since we were centralised. We have a sense of direction and feel in a position to deliver our services effectively”

An officer

93 Work on the public impact of the service and on the links with other services were beneficial in challenging the existing practice and service effectiveness.

94 Challenge was provided through an assistant director from the social services group, the Best Value Steering Group and Scrutiny Members. An Assistant Director from another council also played a key role in challenging the service. This is a difficult role but one that is essential to undertaking a successful review.

95 We conclude that the service was challenged both internally and externally to the council at all stages of the review. Feedback from these challenge exercises led to improvements in the recruitment process, improved communication with users and an options appraisal of future service delivery.

**Competition**

96 There is a long tradition of human resources in local government procuring services from the private sector, especially in relation to training and development and recruitment advertising. There is a well-established market in these areas and also a rapidly growing market in respect of other aspects of human resources. There are now also providers able to undertake the

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(^4) Society of Chief Personnel Officers

(^5) Challenge, compare, compete and consult as set out in DETR circular 10/99 whole range of human resources activities on behalf of the council. It was evident during our inspection that a mixed economy existed within the Human Resources service, with recruitment activities being undertaken in-house whilst advertising was outsourced.

97 We found evidence that the service had contacted two private sector providers to evaluate the competitiveness of the in-house provision. These approaches in May 2001 were in relation to the response handling service for job advertisements based on advertising 400/550 jobs per annum. However it was evident that the results of this research have not yet led to changes in the way the service is provided. We see this as an issue which the council needs to address.

Following an options appraisal undertaken during the review, eight future service provision options were presented to members in the final report. These have also been included in the improvement plan. From our interviews with Members and the trade unions it is evident that they are committed to further exploring these options. We view this as an area that needs to be explored in a timely fashion to reap the benefits from the work undertaken during the review.

Consultation

98 The council’s consultation strategy 2001 – 2003 entitled “Engaging Enfield” was launched in June 2001. The primary objectives of the strategy are:

- To develop a coherent approach to consultation;
- To increase awareness of good practice and major consultation programmes; and
- To improve the extent to which local people and stakeholders see Enfield as a listening and responsive council.

99 It is recognised within the strategy that all best value reviews conducted in year one (which includes human resources) included significant consultation. This view was supported by the users of the service we interviewed whilst on site.

100 It was evident that consultation was being used to establish service priorities and modify service levels.

101 The service has undertaken extensive consultation, both prior to and during the review that focused on the service delivered. This included ongoing dialogue with partners such as Middlesex University and the Enfield training centre based in Edmonton (the community facing aspect of training and development). This active and open approach to consultation was further evidenced during our meetings with the three trade unions active within the council. 102 The consultation exercises resulted in suggestions for improvements to the service, including a review of the recruitment and selection process and the introduction of a revised redeployment policy. Whilst we were on site we found evidence that the turnaround time for filling some posts had been reduced from 16 to 8 weeks, an area of concern for users at the start of the review.

103 A revised redeployment scheme has also been introduced with the emphasis on matching officers skills with vacancies within the council, where they otherwise would have been made redundant.

104 Consultation exercises also revealed that more use should be made of the local job centre. As part of our reality checks we contacted the local job centre and were informed that the council is currently an active participant in recruitment campaigns in particular in relation to posts which are hard to fill.

Comparison

105 We have covered in some detail the work that the service has undertaken in comparing itself to both the private and public sector. These comparisons drove improvements in two key areas – the development of local PIs relevant to the council and key to users needs and a more customer focused approach in the services that are delivered to users.

106 In conclusion we feel that extensive consultation was carried out during the review which resulted in actions being implemented. Comparison with both the private and public sector had been undertaken and challenge provided during the best value review. However, the competitiveness of the service was not fully explored.

How good is the improvement plan?

107 A Best Value Review should produce an improvement plan that sets out what needs to be improved and why and how improvements will be delivered. It should contain challenging targets which are not only challenging but also designed to demonstrate and ensure the continuous improvement necessary to put the service amongst the top 25 per cent of councils within five years.

108 The review resulted in a short-term improvement plan approved by Members in January 2001. This plan included 12 key areas of activity:

- Corporate Health Indicators
- Enfield Corporate Indicators
- HR Customer Care
- Joining Enfield – Advertising Recruitment and Selection

Induction

Redeployment

Identification of development and training needs

The cost and effectiveness of development and training

The contribution HR makes to performance management and council objectives

Communication

Leaving Enfield.

However, there are no five-year targets and the latest target date in the plan is January 2002. Our interviews revealed the belief that planning beyond a three-year period was hard if the plan was to remain useful. We recognise the need to have a plan that is useful but consider the introduction of medium and longer term targets to be in line with best practice and necessary to provide direction for services.

The improvement plan is underpinned by quantitative and qualitative measures including targets e.g. percentage increase in customer satisfaction - target of 80 per cent as a minimum of all customers satisfied with the service they receive.

The improvement plan contains lead officer accountabilities and time-scales. In general, actions are to be contained within current budgets. The plan contained a number of “quick wins” particularly in relation to local job centre advertising and a revised redeployment approach.

The improvement plan is widely disseminated throughout the council. This was evidenced by our discussions with the Chief Executive, users, human resources service staff and members who were aware of the plan and their role in delivering the actions.

The improvement plan is widely viewed as a “living” document. It is discussed at regular team meetings and in May 2001, a half-day away with the corporate management team was used to discuss the plan.

During our inspection we tried to ascertain the links between the service plan for 2001/02 and the improvement plan which resulted from the best value review. It was evident that the needed improvements highlighted during the best value review were the basis for the human resources service plan. 115 We conclude that the member responsibility for the plan is clear and that actions within the plan are linked to a timetable. The improvement plan includes local indicators to measure performance and which are meaningful to users of the service. The plan also includes details on resources and encourages cross-departmental working.

Will the authority deliver the improvements?

116 Inspectors look for evidence that a council will deliver what it has set out in the improvement plan. We look for a track record of managing change within the council. We also check that the plan has the necessary support from councillors, management, staff, the public and other stakeholders. Likelihood of further improvement will depend on the council implementing the recommendations contained in this report.

117 During our inspection we found evidence that the service had delivered within time-scale all of the actions due to be complete prior to our inspection. These included:

- a profile of council staff which includes gender, ethnicity and disability details;
- customer care development for all HR staff;
- local job recruitment policy in place;
- advertising contract reviewed;
- annual customer surveys and focus groups to assess users needs; and
- equalities development for all HR staff undertaken.

118 Member level monitoring responsibility for the plan is clear with progress reported to Members on a six-monthly basis. The head of service meets with members on a three-weekly basis and the improvement plan is a standing item on the agenda. The Members we spoke to were keen to deliver an effective service and saw their role in monitoring progress of the improvement plan as key to achieving this aim.

119 It was evident during our inspection that staff were motivated and committed to improving the service. Regular team meetings were welcomed by staff and were seen as providing a useful forum in which to discuss service improvements.

120 The Human Resources service has a track record of effectively managing both resource and structure changes over the past two years. Its profile within the organisation has increased since the best value review. This was supported by our interviews with users and members who clearly saw the service adding value to the organisation overall. Workshops entitled “Developing Managers HR Skills” commencing in September 2001, were being developed whilst we were on site. These workshops are designed to give managers the basic knowledge and understanding specifically needed to effectively implement the Council’s HR policies and procedures. They will build on the “How do I” approach, mentioned previously in this report. Whilst we were on site we were provided with a copy of the brief for these workshops presented to the Corporate Management team. Initially it is proposed that the workshops will be designed to develop managers skills in the following areas:

- Managing attendance;
- Dealing with unacceptable conduct;
- Dealing with unsatisfactory performance;
- Managing change; and
- Resolution of grievances.

We welcome the council’s approach in this area.

A common theme highlighted by users and staff throughout our inspection was the lack of an effective integrated IT system. Examples were cited to us of data being compiled manually which was seen as cumbersome and ineffective. We recognise that the corporate management team in June 2001 agreed to explore options to overcome this challenge. We view the lack of an integrated IT system as a serious issue which the council needs to address.

Summary

In summary, the council has recognised the need to change elements of the human resources service. It was evident to us that the service “had moved on” since the review. We have concluded that the best value review addressed the current areas for development in human resources, and that good progress has been made on those actions. We found that key stakeholders have ownership of the improvements proposed. Local performance indicators have been developed. However, a lack of an effective integrated IT system is a challenge which needs to be overcome. Appendix - What the inspectors did

The purpose of best value inspection is to make two judgements. The first is, how good is the service being inspected? The second is, how likely is it to improve? We carried out a range of different activities to enable us to reach our judgements.

Documents examined

Before going on site, the inspection team reviewed documentation which had been provided by the authority in advance. This included the Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP), the best value review and the improvement plan. This work helped us to decide on the focus of our inspection.

Document Review included

- Best value performance plan – “Future Enfield”
- Management letter – December 2000
- Engaging Enfield – consultation strategy 2001 and beyond

Reality checks undertaken

- Walked the floor of the service
- Telephoned 12 users across the council (chosen by Inspectors)
- Requested information by telephone on four occasions
- Held Focus Groups for staff, chief officers and heads of service

Interviews conducted

Internal to the council

| Name | Position | |-----------------|---------------------------| | David Plank | Chief Executive | | Angela O’Connor | Head of HR | | Margaret McHugh | HR Consultant | | Ingrid Froyland | HR Consultant | | Sandra Allen | HR Consultant | | Tim Strong | Assistant Head HR | | Name | Position | |-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | Althea Loderick | Assistant Head HR | | Pamela Standley | HR Consultant | | Councillor Roger Buckley | Member | | Councillor Andrew Stafford | Member | | Sharon Dunn | Policy Unit | | Roy Dunnett | Trade Union | | Malcolm Featley | Trade Union | | Councillor Edward Smith | Member | | Gerry Glover | Finance | | Steve England | HR Consultant | | Chris Ellis | Training and admin Support Manager | | Mark Clark | IT | | Sue Chick | HR Consultant | | Tony Hull | Safety Adviser | | Karen Canterford | Operations Manager | | Anne Mursell | HR Adviser | | Dr Phil Slater | Head of Student Union | | Dr Kathy Darby | D & T Consultant Management Development | | Rosemary Arrowsmith-Oliver | D & T Co-ordinator |

External to the council

| Name | Position | |-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | Chandra Bhatia | Enfield Council for Racial Equality | | Annie Cockcroft | Occupational Health outsourcing provider |